Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

English Standard Version

From Dust to Dust

¹⁶Moreover, ^(A)I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even ^(B)there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. ¹⁷I said in my heart, ^(C)God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is ^(D)a time for every matter and for every work. ¹⁸I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but ^(E)beasts. ¹⁹^(F)For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.^[a] ²⁰All go to one place. All are from ^(G)the dust, and to dust all return. ²¹Who knows whether ^(H)the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? ²²So I saw that there is ^(I)nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for ^(J)that is his lot. Who can bring him to see ^(K)what will be after him?

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Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 3:19 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)

Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

New International Version

¹⁶And I saw something else under the sun:

In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the place of justice—wickedness was there.

¹⁷I said to myself,

“God will bring into judgment^(A)
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time to judge every deed.”^(B)

¹⁸I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.^(C) ¹⁹Surely the fate of human beings^(D) is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath^[a]; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. ²⁰All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.^(E) ²¹Who knows if the human spirit rises upward^(F) and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”

²²So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work,^(G) because that is their lot.^(H) For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

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